British sailors freed by Iran tell new story

April 07, 2007

ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England (AP) - British sailors and marines freed by Iran said Friday they were blindfolded, isolated in cold stone cells and tricked into fearing execution while being coerced into falsely saying they had entered Iranian waters. They said there was no doubt the 15 crew members were in Iraq's territorial waters when they were seized by heavily armed boats of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. They also said their jailers had singled out the only woman among the captives for use in propaganda. Iran, which has been celebrating the incident as a victory, quickly rejected the charges, dismissing a news conference held by six of the freed personnel as ''propaganda'' and ''a show.'' Iranian state TV accused British leaders of ''dictating'' the crew's statements. Appearing a day after being flown home to reunions with their families, the eight sailors and seven marines reported undergoing constant psychological pressure and being threatened with seven years in prison if they did not say they intruded into Iranian waters. They said their captors also lined them up against a wall one night to the ominous sound of weapons cocking behind their heads. ''At some points I did have fears that we would not survive,'' Operator Maintainer Arthur Batchelor, 20, said.